Man charged with elder abuse after mother's death

ROSWELL, Ga. — A Roswell man is facing elderly cruelty charges after police said his mother died.

Police told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik they got a call to a home on Roswell Green Lane Friday about an elderly woman who had died.

“It began as a normal death investigation for an elderly person, then the officer on scene started noticing some suspicious things,” said Roswell police Officer Zachary Frommer.

Frommer said the officer noticed 85-year-old Virginia Fritts had bed sores from her head to her toes and was sleeping on a box spring without a mattress.

“It appeared she hadn’t been to a doctor in about a year and her prescriptions were not up to date,” he said.

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Detectives questioned and eventually charged Fritts’ son, 59-year-old Edward Casey, after they said his story didn’t add up.

“Cases involving children and elderly pull on the heart strings a little bit,” said Frommer. “You hate to see that happen.”

Neighbor Bill White told Petchenik he saw CSI units and the coroner outside the home and thought something was up.

“We knew it wasn’t good, but we didn’t know what the story was at all,” he said.

White, an exercise physiologist who works with the elderly population, told Petchenik what happened is unfortunate.

“It’s of course very sad,” he said.  “I think we live in a society where there’s this thing called ageism.”

A woman who came out of the family home Wednesday did not want to comment on the allegations. Casey has bonded out of the Fulton County Jail.

Cox Media Group